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Updated: May 28, 2025
We travelled about seven miles west by north. Silver-leaved Ironbark ridges, of a dreary aspect, and covered with small shining brown iron pebbles, alternating with small plains and box-flats, extended generally to the northward. Some of the hills were open at their summits, timbered with apple-gum, and covered with white ant-hills; their bases were surrounded with thickets of the Severn tree.
We encamped at a fine Nymphaea lagoon, in the rich shade of a white drooping gum tree. A large but dry creek was near us to the westward. The grass was excellent. August 2. We travelled twelve miles west-north-west, over a fine box-flat, crossed a good sized creek, about five miles from the camp, and, to the westward of it, passed over seven miles of Ironbark ridges.
April 16. We proceeded north by west to latitude 19 degrees 32 minutes, and crossed several gullies coming from the basaltic ridges: these, however, receded far from the river, and large box and Ironbark flats took their place for about three miles, when the ridges re-appeared.
From the top of the hill, which is wooded with a silver-leaved Ironbark, I saw a very mountainous country to the N.N.W. and northward, formed into detached ranges and isolated peaks, some of which were apparently very high; but to the north-west and west no ranges were visible.
The grass was beautiful, but the tufts distant; the Ironbark forest was sometimes interspersed with clusters of Acacias; sometimes the Ironbark trees were small and formed thickets. Towards the end of the stage, the country became again entirely flat, without any indication of drainage, and we were in manifest danger of being without water.
Five miles more of rough travelling over broken stony ironbark ridges, brought them to a second gorge, formed by two spurs of a range, running down to the river banks on either side, where they camped, having made about 15 miles on a general course of N.W. by N. To the south of this gorge, and running parallel with the river, is a high range of hills, which received the name of the Newcastle Range.
Then there was a big hay-shed, chock-full of good sweet hay and wheat sheaves, and, last of all, the new stable, with six stalls and a loft above, and racks, all built of ironbark slabs, as solid and reg'lar as a church, Jim said. They'd a good six-roomed cottage and a new garden fence ever so long.
We travelled about nine miles west by north to latitude 17 degrees 30 minutes 47 seconds. The first part of the stage was over an undulating country timbered with box and Ironbark; but the latter part was hilly and mountainous: the mountains were so rocky, where they entered the bed of the river, that we were obliged to leave its banks, and travel over a very difficult country.
All that night long we had to go, and keep going. A deal of the road was rough near the Shoalhaven country, across awful deep gullies with a regular climb-up the other side, like the side of a house. Through dismal ironbark forests that looked as black by night as if all the tree-trunks were cast-iron and the leaves gun-metal.
I chose the latter direction, and passed over ironstone ridges covered with stunted silver-leaved Ironbark; and a species of Terminalia, a small tree, with long spathulate glaucous leaves, slightly winged seed-vessels, and with an abundance of fine transparent eatable gum; of which John and Brown gathered a great quantity.
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